Ross and Richardson Power Marshall Past St. Joseph-Ogden in Straight Sets

ST. JOSEPH, Ill. — Lillian Ross hammered 10 kills on a .600 clip and Harper Richardson filled every column on the stat sheet Monday as the Marshall Lions swept St. Joseph-Ogden 2-0 in a non-conference road match on Sept. 21.

The win moved Marshall to 18-8 on the season. The host Spartans fell to 14-10.

Marshall never needed a third set, and the reason showed up in the hitting numbers. Ross, a sophomore, was the most efficient attacker on the floor by a wide margin — 10 kills on 15 swings with a single error, a 66.7 kill percentage that no one else in the match approached. When the Lions needed a point to close out a rally, the ball went to her.

Richardson, a senior, did the rest of the heavy lifting. She ran the offense for 11 assists, added six kills of her own on 18 attempts, and was the steadiest server on either side, going 15-for-16 from the line with three aces and a team-high 11 service points. Richardson also led Marshall at the net with three total blocks, including the match’s only solo stuff.

Together, Ross and Richardson accounted for 16 of Marshall’s 21 kills and all 19 of the team’s assists — Ross chipped in eight assists of her own out of the serve-receive offense, a sign of how often the Lions got their first contact where they wanted it.

The front line gave Marshall a second way to score. Senior Mckenzie Davis was a problem on every swing St. Joseph-Ogden took, piling up four block assists to go with two kills, and freshman Libby Huisinga added two blocks and two kills in a two-set shift that belied her class year. Marshall finished with 13 total blocks in just two sets.

Behind them, junior Ali Sheets anchored the back row. Sheets handled a team-high 18 serve-receive attempts and dug up nine balls, the most on the roster, keeping Marshall out of scramble situations. Senior Lauren English was right there with her — 11 receptions, seven digs, an ace and three service points. Senior Nya Engledow took six receptions and a dig off the bench rotation.

Marshall’s service game was the quiet difference. The Lions put 45 of 49 serves in play, struck four aces and surrendered only four service errors across the two sets, never handing St. Joseph-Ogden the free points a shorthanded sweep usually requires. Senior Ellie Delp contributed a block assist and two digs in the rotation.

Game Summary

Score by Sets

Individual set scores were not reported in the available match data.

Individual Statistics — Marshall (18-8)

KILLS: Lillian Ross 10; Harper Richardson 6; Mckenzie Davis 2; Libby Huisinga 2; Lauren English 1. Team — 21 kills, 76 attempts, 11 errors, .132.

HITTING LEADERS: Ross .600 (10-1-15); Richardson .167 (6-3-18); Huisinga .083 (2-1-12).

ASSISTS: Richardson 11 (5.5/set); Ross 8 (4.0/set). Team — 19.

SERVING: Richardson 3 aces, 15-of-16 (93.3%), 11 points; English 1 ace, 7-of-8 (85.7%), 3 points; Ross 10-of-10, 6 points; Davis 8-of-8, 4 points; Sheets 5-of-6 (80.0%), 2 points; Engledow 2-of-2, 1 point; Delp 2-of-4 (50.0%). Team — 4 aces, 4 service errors.

BLOCKING: Davis 4 (0 solo, 4 assists); Richardson 3 (1 solo, 2 assists); Ross 2; Huisinga 2; Delp 1; English 1. Team — 13 total blocks.

DIGGING: Sheets 9 (4.5/set); English 7; Richardson 7; Ross 5; Davis 3; Delp 2; Engledow 1. Team — 34.

SERVE RECEIVE: Sheets 18 (4 errors); English 11 (1 error); Engledow 6; Richardson 3; Delp 1.

St. Joseph-Ogden individual statistics were not included in the available match data.